A member of the Human Rights Commission (HRCM) has said that jailed Vice President Ahmed Adeeb’s doctor had advised him to undergo cancer screening back in December 2015.

The official, who spoke to RaajjeMV on the condition of anonymity, said that the Commission had questioned Dr. Ahmed Shareef, a urologist at the state-operated Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH), whom he had seen on December of 2015.

Dr. Ashraf had asked Adeeb to seek consultation with an oncologist and undergo a biopsy. He told the HRCM that the former vice president has a family history of cancer and that he had asked that the biopsy be conducted as soon as possible, in 2015.

Adeeb’s brother, Mohamed Nadheem, had succumbed to cancerous cyst in 2008. The official from HRCM said that the doctor had advised that Adeeb receive treatment abroad.

Dr. Ashraf had not responded to RaajjeMV’s attempts to acquire a comment at the time of publishing.

The HRCM began investigating the Adeeb’s negligence allegations against the state over its refusal to grant him medical leave from incarceration after the former vice president’s spouse, Mariyam Nashwa, pursued it at the commission on the 31st of May.

Adeeb’s family had released a statement earlier in June claiming that he has developed an internal cyst, kidney stones, and vision impairment from glaucoma since his incarceration in 2015.

They have accused the state of negligence in failing to provide Adeeb with adequate medical care during his isolated incarceration at the prison in Dhoonidhoo Island while the police investigated allegations against him.

Adeeb was sentenced to a total of 33 years in prison for on allegations of attempting to assassinate President Abdulla Yameen and for his role in the heavily publicized case of graft involving the state-operated Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation.

After the matter became contentious, with it having been filed at the United Nations and with Amnesty International, Attorney General Mohamed Anil said that the state is refusing to grant Adeeb medical leave due to threat of flight.

Anil then said that the former vice president owes the state over USD 10 million, and that there is strong reason to believe that he may flee.